Why 12-Year-Old Girls Are Having Rough, Aggressive Sex WAY Earlier

Thanks to the easy access of porn, there's never been a more confusing and stressful time to be a teenager.

Girls are under more sexual pressure than ever before. Girls used to learn about sex from their parents or teachers, but now, they're getting their sex education from porn, and so are boys their age.

The media constantly sends mixed messages about sex, body image, gender roles, and relationships to young people. Some of these messages are true and factually correct, while others are damaging.

Technology has drastically changed this sexual landscape. Decades ago, before cell phones and computers, we'd sit by the phone and pray that our crush would call. And even if he did, most of us didn't have our own phones so there'd be very little privacy.

If the conversation went longer than your parents thought was appropriate, they'd shut it down. Now, kids have constant contact via social media: Facebook, Twitter, instant messaging, Instagram, and other chat platforms. Parents have little to no ability to monitor how their child communicates with others.

Teens and tweens flirt online with people they haven't even met, and text guys they've barely spoken to. They become friends with people on Facebook and relationships develop from comments/conversations on social media.

There's also sexting and online games — such as Sneaky Hat, in which teenagers wear nothing but a hat, take selfies, and use them as profile pictures — that enable this behavior.

If that isn't surprising enough, oral sex is happening before girls have intercourse, but don't understand the risks of oral sex. 51 percent of adolescents aged 15 to 24 have had oral sex, and just over one in ten have had anal sex.

A study from Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire found that 42 percent of online users aged 10 to 17 have seen pornography.

Another study from the Australian Institute of Criminology found that adolescents with greater exposure to pornography were more likely to engage in sexual intercourse, or aggressive/violent sexual practices.

In a flooded market of internet porn, the industry is producing more extreme material to stand out.

In her research, Maree Crabbee found a trend towards sex that's rough, aggressive, and idealizes acts women don't enjoy in real life, like gag-inducing oral sex, anal sex, and physical or verbal aggression.

In an interview with The Sidney Morning Herald, Crabbee said, "The message to the consumer is that she likes it when he hits her, or he chokes her or he gags her. For many boys, porn is their sex education. They copy what they see and expect their girlfriends to be like the women in the film."

With the rise of technology, teens are going online almost all the time, and constantly see pornographic images. Experts have warned that the increase in adolescents viewing pornography is an implication of a variety of problems, including a rise in STDs and teenage pregnancies.

Crabbe explained further, saying, "We're hearing stories from young women about their partners initiating signature sex acts from pornography, and of the women struggling with wanting to please their partners, wanting to be accommodating and generous in their sexuality, but not wanting to engage in those sex acts."

It's easy to say that parents need to monitor what their kids are looking on the Internet, but it isn't always that easy.

If we tried talking more openly about porn, relationships, and how sex shouldn't be about abuse and violence, kids can understand that forcing someone to do something isn't fun for anyone.